Waterglass Paint

Creating Vintage Chalk Paint Terra Cotta Flower Pots

I have a favorite little green flower pot. It’s a pale, muted green glazed terra cotta pot. For some reason, it is my favorite little flower pot. I want to create a similar look by painting my own vintage chalk paint terra cotta flower pots using Poet’s Paint and spraying them with a clear coat.

I decided I would also attempt to add a stencil design, perhaps a French label so I went to www.GraphicsFairy.com of course for some label ideas. Much to my surprise, not only did I find some great label ideas but sure enough, someone also had the same idea of painting terra cotta pots and giving them a vintage look with French labels. Great minds do indeed think a like. They used a more whitewash look on the pots which was very pretty but I wanted a more opaque pale vintage color like Poet’s Paint Vintage Silk Blue, Vintage 50’s Green, Seaside, Vintage White, Driftwood Grey or Buttercup.

If you don’t find a label that you like from Graphics Fairy, you can download the one I created and used for these pots. oval-label.jpg

QUICK TIP: The process of transferring the label using Modge Podge, works better on paler colors of paint such as the colors mentioned above rather than darker colors. And this is because when you remove the paper from the transfer, there remains a bit of ghostly white haze left behind that is more prominent on a darker color. You won’t even notice it if you’re using Vintage White, Vintage Silk Blue or Driftwood Grey.

Use the masking tape to mask off the rim then paint the pot. The paint will dry quickly.

While the paint dries, print out your label on regular copy paper. REMEMBER to reverse the image when you print it out. You can download the one I created and used for these pots. oval-label.jpg Cut out the image.

Cover the image with a generous coating of Modge Podge.

Place the image on the dried pot, image side down and smooth out any air bubbles. Let the image dry overnight.

The image should be very dry. Dip the chip brush in water and continuously soak the image. Using the bristles of the chip brush, gently move the bristles around the image letting it pull up the paper.

When you think you’ve removed most of the paper, use the pads of your fingers to feel and remove any remaining paper. Then let the pot dry.

Once dry, you can spray it with a coating such as Krylon Triple Thick Clear Glaze (about or similar top coat or just leave it matte. Some pots I coated and other I left matte. I liked them both ways. I also found I liked some of the pots with a whitewashed rim and some with a raw terra cotta rim.

I purchase these great little clips on Amazon so that I could hang the pots on my wooden fence. A 12-pak cost me about $13. The clips could easily work to attach pots to a tree or attach them to anything that you can put a screw into. They hold a pot quite securely in heavy wind. These are great for putting my herbs out of reach of the rabbits in my yard. And I just leave flowers in their original pots and put two or three at a time in my larger vintage painted pots and switch them out whenever I want new ones.

This project was super simple and pretty cheap and I love the aged look of the vintage chalk paint terra cotta flower pots.

Chalk Painted Tile Floors

Chalk based paint is so versatile that yes – it can be used to paint over ugly floor tiles and give them a whole new fresh look. We were working with 10″x10″ outdated and very ugly, flesh-toned ceramic tile. We decided not to paint areas of the floor that would ultimately be covered with accent rugs and here you can see we went around the outer edges of the dining area and left the center unpainted. Didn’t see any need to spend more on paint when 1) the tiles would be covered by rugs and 2) the hope is to have all the tile taken up and replaced by hardwood flooring within two years. So, chalk painted tile floors is to an intermediary plan until we can ultimately replace all the flooring with hardwood.

Here is the hardwood flooring that will eventually cover the whole house. Right now, it’s only in the master bedroom. Unfortunately, our newly purchased house also needs a new roof and we just finished replacing all the windows and sliding doors with hurricane impact glass. Very expensive. One project at a time.

Below is one coat using Poet’s Paint Waterglass Paint chalk-based paint in Vintage White which is a color match to Annie Sloan’s Old White.

You can see the difference between one coat of chalk paint on the floor tile and two coats. And you can see how hideous the original tile is.

So what do you use to maintain the floor and help protect it from scratching? We used Miniwax water-based Polycrilic in a clear matte finish and we’re pretty happy with it. We applied it using a sponge mop but I think it would have been easier with a paint roller and long handle. We topcoated with two coats of the Polycrilic over the chalk paint. We did try another product and it created terrible amber color streaks everywhere and we had to recoat with more chalk paint. I don’t remember what product it was but it was suppose to be a clear topcoat. It wasn’t.

We also looked for different stencil designs to see if we might want to stencil some artwork on top of the white but finally decided to just leave it white. I could see someone doing a checkerboard pattern using the paint – maybe Vintage White and Blackbird to get a black and white checkerboard pattern in the right room. Or maybe a Moroccan stencil pattern but our design theme is what I call “Vintage Beach” and the creamy white chalk paint was perfect.

We’re very happy with how the chalk painted tile floors came out and has made such a difference in the room. The tiles are a beautiful creamy vintage tone and go very well with our decor. I don’t feel quite so anxious about getting the wood flooring down as quickly as possible.

You can do it and it’s very easy. Clean your floors first before painting and wait until the first coat dries before applying the second coat. We used a paint roller to apply the paint and then a sponge mop to apply the Polycrilic top coat but a paint roller would probably work better or just as good.

Poets Paint Vintage White Chest of Drawers

I managed to pick up this 5-drawer chest at a thrift store for $25.00 and it was the perfect candidate for a chalk-based paint overhaul in Poets Paint Vintage White and Blackbird. And I knew I wanted to use a graphic on the front – something where I could use our name and logo and maybe even put it in French. The best place to go for graphics, especially for furniture is The Graphics Fairy. Wonderful vintage graphics. But I didn’t want mine to look like so many that i had seen on the internet so I ended up tweaking it by using the one outline and bits and pieces from others. And finally I translated Poets Paint Waterglass Paint into French then found a font that I liked and used Photoshop to manipulate the curvature and size and just printed it out.

Once I had painted most of the piece with Poets Paint Vintage White (an exact match to Annie S. Old White), I then painted the rest, which included the top and the legs with Poets Paint Blackbird.

I then fussed around quite a bit with placement of my graphics before I got it exactly the way I wanted it then taped down the bits and pieces of paper in place. I then used carbon paper underneath and traced over it with a pen. Once I had the outline, I removed the carbon paper and my pattern pieces and went over the lines with my black paint pen. Black paint pens are great and they come in all widths so it’s easy to get fine details.

If I made any errors with the black paint pens I just painted over them and started again.

I used a fine grade (300) sandpaper over the edges and even over the design to give it an aged and worn look in areas.

And finally, I used Driftwood Final Finish Liquid Wax which I applied with a soft cloth. One coat – let it dry for about 8 minutes, buff it and then applied a second coat, let it dry and buff again. This gave it not only a nice protective finish but a soft satin look to the finish and I found it was easier to apply than other waxes.

Poets Paint Blackbird Cabinet Project

This “lovely” cabinet was found at an antique mall and was left outside on the porch where it was subject to the Florida weather and lots of neglect. But it had such beautiful carvings and was a nice petite size and I just found myself drawn to it. I kept going back to it and even after sleeping on it a day, which is usually good enough to dissuade me from a bad decision, I went back and purchased it. Now, this poor cabinet was severely neglected and had I known just how much work it was going to be, I probably would not have purchased it. The top piece was pretty badly bowed and had to be replaced – it could not be repaired. The varnish was peeling off everywhere in big pieces as was the veneer. I found evidence of termite damage although I believe the termites have since departed. And it seemed as if every time I merely touched any of the decorative wood pieces, they would chip off and I had to replace so much of the decorative pieces. And yet, I could still envision the long lost beauty of this cabinet. I made a last minute decision to use Poets Paint Blackbird for a nice black finish.

Here’s a sample of how bad the varnish job was done – bubbling and globs everywhere. Below is how big slices would just peel off.

After many hours and days of tossing and turning about what color to paint the cabinet – I couldn’t decide whether to go bold and do it in a washed Aegean Turquoise, soft and subtle with Vintage Silk Blue, gold ol’ standard Vintage White, beautiful Seaside Blue, or even try a distressed Ancient Red. Time was running out as the cabinet was going to be used as a display for the Poet’s Paint at an Antique Mall and I had 4 days left before I had to deliver it. Poets Paint Blackbird it was! Good coverage and I figured I would highlight the woodwork with just a touch of our sister company’s Driftwood all Natural Liming Wax and then top coat it with the Driftwood Final Finish Liquid Wax for an easy and hard wax finish.

I love how the Liming Wax gave it a subtle ghostly appearance – just enough to make the decorative woodwork stand out. I then replaced the handles with some beautiful black and white handles I discovered at a TJMaxx. While I don’t have a picture of the cabinet door, I did end up stenciling “Poet’s Paint Waterglass Paint” and our logo in black on the glass and I wish I had taken a picture as it really did come out good. But this was a bear of a project.

Mid-Century Dresser with Poets Paint Cashmere

This mid-century piece is done using Poets Paint Cashmere and Vintage White colors. Poets Paint Cashmere is a color match to Annie S. French Linen.

I seem to have an affinity for mid-century furniture pieces, along with glassware, dinnerware and other decorating pieces. Not sure why as it really doesn’t go with most of my decorating aesthetics and room designs but I manage to get pieces in here and there and they look great.

This was a dresser in need of repair that I purchased from a thrift store for $125.00. I new as soon as I saw it that I wanted to do it in two-tones. I loved the simplicity of the handles and just the design itself. It did have a broken leg which needed repair and it was something that I did not see when I initially purchased it so I don’t know if it was something that happened during delivery. I probably would not have bought it had I seen the damage to the leg and I certainly would not have paid $125.00, but all’s well that ends well as I did end up selling it for $175.00. I love this piece but I had no room for it anywhere.

In addition to the broken legs, it had several deep gouges that needed to be repaired. Here I just used wood filler, let it dry and sanded. The leg repair required a buildup of wood filler and some laminate cut to size to replace missing laminate.

Once I made all the repairs, I sprayed the whole dresser using shellac as I suspected this would be a piece that would have “bleed through” since it was from the 50s. The shellac will prevent not only bleed through but any cracking of the paint.

I started with the Poet’s Paint Vintage White and then did the drawer fronts with the Poets Paint Cashmere. I ended up putting four coats of the Vintage White on the top and sanding in between each coat as I wanted and really nice hard finish on top. The drawer fronts took two coats of the Poets Paint Cashmere and again i sanded in between coats.

I also used a very fine steel wool pad to remove the grime from the handles and the result was a pretty polished but still distressed look on the handles.

Then I used a stencil I purchased on line and stenciled the drawer fronts with the Vintage White. If I didn’t like the placement of the stencil, I sanded it down, painted with the Cashmere again and then redid the stencil until I got the placement the way I wanted it.

Still not finish, I decided to add a pop of unexpected color on the sides of the drawers that would only be seen when the drawers were pulled out. I chose a bright orange reminiscent of oranges used in the 50s to accent the drawers.

Awesome Vintage Baby’s Highchair that Converts to a Rocker

This unique piece is from the 1920’s Sears catalog, or so I am told. It’s such a clever piece and who knew they had pieces back then that were multi-purpose? This clever little highchair also folds quickly into a rocking chair – I love it. Of course you wouldn’t be able to use it now for a child but it would make a great addition to any little girl’s playroom for her dolls. What pampered little girl wouldn’t love this piece for her favorite doll?

This is how how the chair looked in its original condition and as you can see, it had a lot of wear and tear. But the integrity of the wood itself was still in good condition – just very worn.

I knew I wanted to use Poets Paint Vintage White but I struggled with whether to use the Cape Cod Blue or the Poets Paint Vintage Silk Green or maybe even both as accent colors. I experimented with both colors and still had a hard time deciding but finally ended up going with the Poets Paint Vintage Silk Green.

I started with two coats of Vintage White over the whole piece and then my initial idea was to put the Poets Paint Vintage Silk Green just on the top design in the crevices only and perhaps paint or stencil a design in the large back panel. But then I knew it was the perfect place to put a wonderful Beatrix Potter image. I found the right image and put it on scannable transfer paper and transferred it to the chair. I also put one on the back as well. Love how it came out.

But then I found myself loving the Poets Paint Vintage Silk Green and I just kept painting more areas with the green. First the tray, then the arms then the step and legs. The color is very pale and soft – very pretty. And wherever there was any sort of design that could be highlighted, I went back in with the Vintage White so the whole piece is two-toned.

And finally, I sprayed lacquer over the Beatrix Potter image transfers to make sure they would be quite permanent and finished the piece using Driftwood Final Finish Liquid Wax which is a liquid carnauba wax finish – very easy to put on and gives it a satin finish. It’s easier than paste waxing and the outcome is the same if you’re not going to antique or distress a finish. Driftwood Final Finish is sold by Poets Paint sister company, DIYDriftwood.com.